Month: October 2018

The Boss would have been real proud to come up with that heading—she’s into illiteration. . . . Huh? Oh. JJ says it’s “alliteration”. <LMAO>

Anyway, the three of us are here to share what we’re planning for Halloween, which is always a majorly fun to-do time on Oahu. There’s a costume party with a bunch of HPD pals, so we’ll pop over around midnight, but during the day and evening, we’re gonna explore what Oahu has to offer, something we’ve talked about in past, but never much done. Each of us has come up with a Halloweeny event to pursue, so Linda, you start. What have you got planned for us?

Ever since I watched It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown as a kid, I’ve wanted to visit a pumpkin patch. So I’m driving us to Waimanalo Country Farms where they’ve got pumpkin picking, hayrides, and a country market, among other things. The little girl in me can’t wait! It’ll be a hoot, I’m sure. What about you, JJ?

I’m sorry to say I got the dates mixed up re the annual Chinatown “Hallowbaloo”—a costume street festival with music/entertainment, art and food—so it’s at the top of the list for next year. We’re heading over to Haunted Plantation, reputed to be the “scariest haunted attraction”. Sixty-plus actors haunt a village with what sounds like—ahem—ghoulishly frightening results. <LOL> Linda, your face is paler than that of a cartoon ghost!

Yeah, it looks like it did last night, when we did the “Zombie Apocalypse” at Coral Crater. What a blast! For those who haven’t experienced it, you gear up and wipe out zombies overrunning a village. Then, you zip-line to safety. Like, how cool is that?

I’m just not as huge a fan of zombies and zip-lining as you, Rey. But once my heart stopped thumping like a snare drum being struck by an eager marching band drummer, I have to admit, I did enjoy the adrenalin rush. . . . So, are you finally going to tell us what you have planned?

I am indeedy-do, Lindy-Loo. Given I’m an actress when I’m not P.I.ing, I had to go for something “theatrical”. I got tickets for—ooh, this is so-o much fun!—a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show hosted by Tita Titsling, who’s touted as the “Premiere Moustache Queen of Chinatown, Honolulu”. How exciting is that, I ask? . . . And on that note, everyone, the three of us from the Triple Threat Investigation Agency wish you an absolootely hairy-scary Halloween!

. . . not of the shopping sort—though I love those—but the crime sort. Hey, it’s Rey here. With Linda. The Boss is getting over a nasty cold and asked one of us to pen the post. JJ’s off for the weekend on some sort of business course, so the two of us are partnering up and shooting the sh—

Linda: Breeze!

Rey: Whatever. I’ve got some emails and texts here with the snail mail. A few folks have asked about our last four cases—okay three, ‘cause The Connecticut Corpse Caper wasn’t really a case, but our first non-pro detecting venture. They were multiple-murder-spree cases, ones where the killers were either uber-focused on not being caught or making serious money the easy way. If someone got in their way or proved of some financial advantage, they got offed.

Linda: You may also want to mention that they favored “crazy”, too.

Rey: Crazy? They were out-and-out nutbars! Remember the Gruesome Twosome in Can you Hula Like Hilo Hattie?

Linda: People do tend to have a fascination for bizarre or eerie killers.

Rey: Like serial killers.

Linda: Which, technically, we haven’t really dealt with.

Rey: Sure we have.

Linda: But that didn’t really come out until after the fact.

Rey: True enough, but I think we’re divesting.

Linda: You mean digressing?

Rey: Whatever. Do we want to talk about our cases?

Linda: Serial killers make a good topic, given it’s Halloween next week. You know, how we have a fascination with them, how they—and we, in turn—lean toward the macabre and the morbid and the scaryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

Rey: Ha-ha, ha-ha.

Linda: That’s the Triple Threat Investigation Agency’s next case.

Rey: One I’m looking forward to. But back to serial killers, why do you think we like them so much?

Linda: Curiosity to start; they’re intriguing. We wonder how they’ve been able to get away with multiple murders for so long, what motivates them to do such dastardly deeds, why they choose certain victims over others. They’re so extreme in what they do, we can’t help but be drawn. Constant news coverage—which is often provocative if not enticing—becomes riveting.

Not the transport sort, but the ad kind. Is it important to have a trailer when doing a book blog tour or launching a book? Is it a viable marketing/promo tool?

Frankly, I’ve only viewed a handful. A couple were cheesy (usually, I like cheesy), the odd one kind of cool, and some simply “uninspiring”. They didn’t influence me enough that I’d have bought or read the book.

It’s said that, generally, trailers don’t promote sales, but they can certainly put your product out there . . . create an awareness factor as it were. This appears to hold true whether your budget is minimal or you invest serious $$$ into one featuring actors, high-end graphics, and the like.

It’s also said that videos are more memorable than text. People will recall images more readily than words. Food for thought.

If your budget is minimal or nonexistent like mine (LOL), you can make your own, but they can prove tricky, so technical and program savvy would be in your definite favor (alas, not in mine). Of course, as suggested above, you can invest some bucks and pay someone—but, if you’re going to take this route, as I always state, please do your due diligence. Learn who excels at them and who doesn’t (check out buyer-beware sites before committing to a particular one). If you’re going to spend money (and as an FYI trailers can cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars, depending on whose services you go with), get the best bang for your buck.

Another alternative is to simply tape yourself and talk about your book. We’ve seen vids of this nature and some can certainly be entertaining if not informative. It depends on the presentation—how you portray yourself and your product. A low-budget look may have merit, depending on the arrangement.

An alternative is a webinar—a slide show or video with audio, which is somewhat reminiscent of a workplace endeavor. But again, if done properly, a webinar could prove a feasible endeavor. For ideas, check out what others have done.

One thing we should NOT do when going solo: cut and paste our book cover and photo, and away we go. When creating our own book trailers, we should apply the same rules applicable to good writing.

Be:

crisp and clear (with words and sound/music)

short and sweet (don’t yammer on incessantly).

Ensure images are first-rate and that the final product communicates what your book is all about, without giving away too much. Remember: you want to inspire people toWANT to learn more.

So you’re thinking of promoting your book by doing a book blog tour? Awesome! Given I’m doing one in the next while for Can You Hula Like Hilo Hattie?, I thought we could touch upon—review—relevant blog-tour “pointers”.

You’ve completed your first e-book. You’ve got it properly formatted and the front and back covers look amazing! How exciting. Now, you’d like people to read it . . . create excitement . . . get reviewed . . . make sales. A book blog tour is a great way to make these goals happen.

Now, if your goal is all about making sales, you’ll want to create a buzz before the book is released. If you want pre-orders, get started a good two-three weeks before the book is released. If you want books to be purchased upon release, then start your blog tour the day the book is out.

A tour (which can last from one week to several weeks) takes work. It’s not simply a matter of sending out multiple copies of your e-book. You have to plan, network, and organize.

Sure, you can pay someone to do it for you (personally, I’m not Rockefeller-rich—not yet, LOL—so I’d prefer to keep my pennies in Mr. Piggy). If you’re going to pay someone, make sure he/she is reputable: do that due diligence and thoroughly research blog-tour sites. Get feedback and also check out “buyer beware” sites. Remember: you get what you paid for.

That said, there are book-tour bloggers who’ll do this for free—t’is true! You just need to—yup—do that due diligence. And network. Learn who’s looking. Get to know fellow writers/bloggers. Read blogs regularly. Comment and participate. You’ll be amazed how supportive fellow bloggers/authors can be. Within no time, you’ll have connections who will help you organize a tour . . . but you’ll still have to put in serious effort.

Whether you go solo or have someone assist, be prepared to have the following items ready:

review copies of the finished product

front cover

bio

author photo

excerpt(s)

posts (for guest spots and your own blog to promote the tour)

interviews (you’d want at least two, and they should be different)

tour banner

book trivia (not necessary, but nice)

trailer (not necessary, but nice)

prize/giveaway (not necessary, but it’s been known to increase traffic)

gratitude—be continually thankful.

Don’t forget to promote the tour on social media. Make sure to follow-up.

There’s a lot to discover on the Internet about book tours, but don’t get overly caught up in all the details. Become familiar with “ground rules” and plunge in (doing is the best way of learning).

. . . How do you measure your success? Track comments and blog/media coverage if you like (not my thing, personally, but to each his or her own). It all depends on what your initial goals were. Maybe you’d be delighted with one awesome review or stellar guest post versus several here’s-a-new-book posts. Maybe you’d be glad with a handful of positive comments. Success—accomplishment—is all about what pleases you.

Out came the thumbs and in went the tongue. With a Hollywood [dazzling] smile, Rey waved with both hands, then tucked them into the pockets of daisy-imprinted cut-off shorts.

“Next time, sister, that tongue better mean business.” With a buffalo snort, he pulled out a mouth-to-lung e-cigarette bundle. Sallo resembled Stacy Keach’s Mike Hammer, right down to the mustache and fedora, an odd hat to be wearing on Oahu. It arrived with him when he moved here two months ago from NYC to replace Devoy Hunt, a detective we’d just gotten to know. He’d opted to move to “quieter, calmer” Kauai, the Garden Isle.

“Jackass,” she muttered, turning sideways. “Why’d he have to choose the same time as us to come and check out the murder scene?”

“Timing’s everything,” Linda said gaily, giving him the finger when he turned back to view the canal.

The three of us—private eyes from The Triple Threat Investigation Agency (Rey’s choice of name)—hadn’t been officially hired for any particular case. We had, however, received an odd email at 8:30 p.m. two nights ago that read: The game’s started, ladies. Check out the area on Laau around the Ala Wai Canal. I suggest you head there now. HA-HA-HA-HA Your loving GrimReaperPeeper.

Tourists, joggers, and strollers with frolicsome dogs utilized the sidewalk on the maiki (south) side of the canal. On the mauka (mountain) side was a golf course, community garden and park, and boating facilities, among other things. Sadly, people didn’t—couldn’t—swim in the Ala Wai anymore. To do so could prove hazardous, because the 1.5-mile-long canal was a breeding channel for bacteria, heavy metals, and pesticides—never mind garbage. Kayakers and canoe paddlers, however, seemed fearless, overlooking the fact that getting canal water on your skin or in your mouth could result in rashes and gastro-intestinal issues. Hazards aside, it was a lovely stretch . . . although we might never quite few it the same way again.

GrimReaperPeeper had sent a message at the completion of our last major case, the third in the agency’s short history that involved bad-ass murderers. Curious, we drove to Laau Street and checked cautiously around. Given the vague directions, there’d been considerable ground to cover and as we were about to give up, Linda had stumbled upon four bodies stretched out before the canal by the Fisheries Management area—four bedraggled, bruised, blotched bodies with loose puckered skin as white as the underbelly of a perch and as translucent as a jellyfish.

Forty-eight hours in the canal, which served as both drainage ditch and tidal estuary, would have contributed to multi-hued patterns on regions still resembling human parts after aquatic inhabitants had feasted. Would have, but didn’t. These four souls had taken their initial swim elsewhere, before necrophagous insects came to feast and spawn.

The two couples had been missing since March twenty-fourth and had been dead since March twenty-sixth, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianoaole Day. That had been the initial determination and it hadn’t, yet, changed.

Detective Sammie Sallo drew on an e-cig and exhaled at length. Fumes twirled upward like coolant smoke flowing from a tailpipe. Strolling back to join us, he eyed Rey’s face with obvious interest. “Looked kinda like beached whales, didn’t they?”

An image of the humpback whales that migrated to Hawaii this time of year came to mind. The migration was comparable to an Oregon cattle drive of yesteryear, a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, or even a run of the grunion, marine fish related to the mullet that spawned from March to August on the first four nights after the highest tide of each full or new moon. They were so predictable the California State Fisheries Laboratory published a timetable indicating when they’d appear.

Well, these four grunion had made it to shore all right, but they’d not completed their quest. There’d been no dissolved oxygen to fan their blood, no sand to begin the regeneration process from, no purpose or hope to keep them alive. And this ending was far from predictable . . . although there had been a full moon that night. Given that unusual things were reported to occur during one, was that significant?

It had been two days since the discovery of the bodies. We’d returned this breezy afternoon to take daytime photos, poke around, and get a feel for what might have happened; Sallo, unfortunately, had had similar thoughts.

The fifty-year-old believed that the four had partied hardy, so he’d stated a few times that night. Given his next words, he was still of the same mind. “There was probably a group of them. They got caught up in too much booze, maybe drugs too, and started playing weird cult games. Maybe they were paying homage to the great god of Ecstasy and/or praying to Mr. Full Moon. I’ve seen shit like this before. Booze and drugs make people do bizarre things.” He picked up a large coffee perched alongside a small plumeria tree, noisily gulped back what was left, and belched.

When it came to class, Sallo had as much elegance as Archie Bunker, a character that retro television wouldn’t let anyone forget. Rey, Linda and I had met him three times in the last few weeks and while Detective Ald Ives (or “Hives” as Rey mockingly called him) seemed to get along well enough with his colleague, we found Sallo as abrasive as steel wool.

“It sure looks that way, Royale. Remember the marks on their chests? In their fucked-up states, they’d probably thought it was a fun, freaky thing to do. Matches the tatts on their arms and probably other body parts we’ve yet to see.” He eyed her with dark amusement, like a deranged despot might his lackey.

“So friends just left them there after moon-and-drug worshipping, and what? Went home to sleep it off?”

“Why not? Come the morning, they realized how carried away they’d gotten. They’re either now having issues coming to terms with it or they don’t give a rat’s ass.”

They’d been found facing the canal with arms folded neatly over chests. Four black fabric roses, glossy and delicate, had been pinned to tops and shirts and all four had had floral designs incised into chests, possibly with a roulette—not the gambling game, but a small toothed disk of tempered steel attached to a hilt and used to make a series or rows of dots, slits, or perforations.

I kicked pebbles as I eyed the crime scene ahead, thinking it was time to visit an upset-irate client whose wayward hubby we’d finally caught being wayward—with her sister. We’d promised to arrive around 4:15 to provide background, a report and invoice, but given Mrs. Starzeneiss’ “high strung” personality, we’d probably have to stick around to soothe ruffled feathers.

“Isn’t it possible they were murdered by a sadistic killer?”

He scowled, threw the coffee cup onto the concrete pathway, and popped a Tic-Tac.

With a sigh, I swallowed a rebuke. Pulling a warm bottle of water from a Hawaiian print backpack, I took a long swallow and eyed fluttering, ripped police tape wrapped around several trees and shrubs. A yellow ribbon tied around an old oak tree it wasn’t. What it was, was jarring. A reminder that something terrible had occurred.

There were often obvious if not improbable gaps in Sallo’s hypotheses, but he wasn’t the sort you could argue with—not without wanting to bang your head against a wall or three.

I nodded to my Jeep parked several yards down, under a bright lemon-colored sun. Thankfully, the sunroof and windows were open (I didn’t much care for A/C).

“Catch ya later, Detective S,” Rey purred.

“Whatever.”

She blew a raspberry and the three of us moseyed to the car.

“Can you spell jerk?” Linda asked, pulling an apple banana from a large crocheted tote.

“Yeah. S-a-l-l-o,” I replied wryly, opening the passenger door.

“What’s up, buttercup?” a baritone voice boomed from behind.

Rey spun, ready to pounce.

Linda and I exchanged amused glances.

“You always pop out from behind parked SUVs like that?” I asked.

Jimmy Carcanetta, a freelance writer and blogger Linda had gotten to know in the last couple months, grinned like a toddler who’d just be given a huge slice of cake. His pumpkin-shaped head bobbled like a fishing bobber. “Nothing like the element of surprise.”

“What brings you here?”

“The same thing that brought you guys here: a need to piece things together and get a feel for what happened.”

“Your article on the murders was good.”

“For a food and wine reviewer,” he chuckled, pulling a new Canon camera from a faux-leather bag. “Thought I’d take a few more pics, for context.”

“Any new findings or thoughts?” Linda asked, leaning into the passenger door and taking a chomp from the apple banana.

“Not yet. Just mulling over facts. They’d been missing two days and died on the twenty-sixth, or thereabouts. They’d been meticulously mutilated—and please don’t attribute it to cult games or weird rites. I heard that from the ass back there the other day.” With a glower, he jerked a thumb rearward. “What crap. . . . Any thoughts about the fact they’d been so neatly arranged, with roses yet? That seems very specific, as if the killer were leaving a calling card.”

“Maybe it’s the creep’s way of saying goodbye, a ceremonial or funereal kind of thing,” Rey offered.

“Who says the roses came from the killer?” Linda added. “They might have been a club or party signature thing. The four may have been wearing them before they were done in.”

“Yeah, but the incisions resembled flowery embroidery.” He scanned the end of the street. “I’m thinking there was a connection between the two, even if Sallo won’t admit it. Why though?”

“Why won’t he admit it? Or what’s the connection?” I smiled drily. “I have a feeling the detective’s going to prove a thorn in many people’s sides.”

Academic Curveball: A Braxton Campus Mystery is the first cozy from James J. Cudney IV (Jay) . . . a big winding curve from suspenseful family dramas Watching Glass Shatter and Father Figure. While Glass and Father lean toward the poignant and enthralling, and occasionally dark, Academic successfully captures the feel of a cozy— with subtle humor and the requisite amateur sleuth, quaint settings, curious characters, clues and red herrings.

Jay’s graphic descriptions of Wharton County and Braxton pull us into various locales; we can clearly envision the picturesque campus and dwellings, feel the chilly November air dance across our skin, and experience the ouch-y smack upon accidentally hitting our head on a wooden bedroom beam. This author has a gift for creating vivid images.

Thirty-something protagonist/narrator Kellan Ayrwick returns to Pennsylvania from California for his crusty father’s retirement from Braxton College. Leaving his five-year-old daughter Emma with in-laws, he demonstrates the care and concerns of a loving single parent. It’s easy to like calm and affable Kellan and want to follow his “inadvertent adventures” when a murder occurs. When his boss requests he remain and cover the dastardly deed for their TV show, he soon discovers that anyone—family and friends included—is a viable suspect.

Before we know it, we’re eagerly ambling along the sleuthing trail with Kellan, attempting to figure out “whodunit” . . . and hoping the one person who didn’t “dunit” is Nana, his wonderfully [hysterically] eccentric grandmother. This woman is a dynamo, reminiscent of Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur. (I could see this quirky gal carrying her own cozy series.)

The book leaves a few openings and storyline possibilities for future Braxton mysteries, which we know are [happily] coming. I’m looking forward to pursuing Kellan’s next “case”.

I love cozy mysteries and book series. I’ve been reading them for ~25 years now and find myself always looking for the latest edition or drama in recurring characters’ lives. I think it’s because I am an only child that I love seeing the continuous bond within families and friends in small towns. I’ve always wanted to be a professor, but I waited too long to go to graduate school. I don’t have the energy or time to go back for advanced degrees now, so I wanted a way to feel like I was back on campus. When I combined all of this together, I thought… maybe that should be my new book series! The first plot evolved out of another dream where I pictured the killer and his/her reason for committing murder, then I built an entire story around it.

Did you envision yourself as Kellan during the writing of Academic Curveball—i.e. are you the protagonist putting the pieces of a puzzle together or are you the creator/author providing twists and turns for your main character?

It’s a combination of both. There are tons of things about Kellan that are 100% me, both in how I speak, my level of sarcasm, and how I analyze situations. I’m not nosy by nature, so I had to push those elements. Someone could say “I think X is so angry with Y, they’ll kill her.” I’d ignore it and not want to get involved in someone else’s drama. Kellan is different. He’d have 100 questions and never stop trying to guess what could happen. Since I draft an outline with scenes described chapter by chapter before I begin writing, I’m definitely creating the twists/turns, but Kellan’s voice surprises me. Sometimes he says things which make me as the author realize I have to alter a scene because he’s smarter than me.

Do characters/characterization come naturally (instinctively) as you write, or do you spend time developing and crafting them?

Both. Each character has 3 or 4 traits (physical and personality) before I write a scene. When they begin to act in the scene, their individual personalities also emerge, then I go back and update prior chapters so it’s consistent. Minor characters never have a look and feel during the outline stage unless I see them as long-term. After the first draft, I read slowly and keep a list of all things I’ve said about a character, then I apply a ratio-formula depending on their number of scenes or future longevity. I want everyone to have enough traits that readers get a good picture but have room to fill in the blanks, too.

Some authors simply go with the flow; their fingers fly furiously across a keyboard. What’s your writing style? Do you let the story and characters tell the tale or do you give considerable thought to scenes/scenarios and how they’ll play out?

After writing a one-page summary of the plot and characters, then I write a ~25 page overview outline. It has details about the murders, the suspects, and the cliffhangers. I also have a chapter by chapter and scene by scene bullet list of what needs to happen. Sometimes it only lists one character and then I decide who (s)he interacts with in the scene in order to build the drama or cover the cozy aspects of the town’s life. In this book, I deleted two chapters by merging their content in with others, then I also added six scenes to help with transitions between chapters. It becomes a puzzle trying to figure out what order to make things happen to keep up the mystery.

On a non-professional note, what inspires you, James J. Cudney?

Outside of reading and writing, I love genealogy, cooking, and history. I am an expert in nothing, nor a jack-of-all-trades. I know a lot about a bunch of things, but I still sometimes need the basics to round out what I am interested in. Inspiration usually comes in the form of seeing a beautiful picture, thinking about where I am and where I want to be… generally analyzing people, places, and things. I am very much in trapped my head and often forget to be a social person. Autumn is my favorite season, so I’m thrilled to enter it these days… I hope it sticks around for a few months.

The new book Broken Heart Attack will be available December 2018 and is also on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/series/242493-braxton-campus-mysteries (but the cover won’t be added for approximately four weeks). Last but by no means least, his stand-alone novels, the aforementioned Watching Glass Shatter and Father Figure, can also be purchased on Amazon.

Jay’s what I (and many bloggers/authors) aspire to be. He’s also a kind and encouraging individual who selflessly offers constructive advice and [much] appreciated support.

Visit his blog (https://thisismytruthnow.com) to find—among other things—reviews and read-a-thons, and the introspective 365 Daily Challenge: “365 days of reflection to discover who I am and what I want out of life.”

The plan was to post the prologue to the fifth e-book in the Triple Threat Investigation Agency series has been slightly postponed.

As I was giving it one last quick look-see, I saw the F-word and it got me to thinking about profanity . . . and the curses, obscenities, vulgarity I lump under that one heading.

A new character with an I’m-always-right attitude (you know the sort) tells it like it is. Period. He’s abrasive—like steel wool. I tend to limit swearing and the like, partly because I don’t want to affront readers and partly because peppery language simply isn’t always necessary (funny, given the F-word flies out of my mouth more often than I’d like to admit, try as I might to control it). When do I use it? When I believe scenes and scenarios and situations warrant usage. As an FYI, I have no issue with profanity and obscenities in other authors’ works, as long as they’re not bleeding across every page like

Certain characters in certain genres—such as crime stories or thrillers, as examples—would (should) be more “hard-edged”. Would they come across as such if they said “gosh darn it” instead of spitting an expletive when confronted with a crazed killer or caught in a dire situation? Think: mechanism versus mechanical, realism versus awkwardness. Balance is a very good thing, so give it some serious thought. Do you write for your readers? Or do you write what you feel comfortable writing?

Consider this: it’s human to become angry, sad, outraged, happy, discouraged, passionate, responsive. We demonstrate emotions and feelings through actions and words. Sometimes, we lash out . . . and loudly. So do fictional characters.

Time and continual story-crafting will dictate what makes you comfortable and what your readers want (and don’t want). But don’t be afraid to challenge yourself or your readers; just be certain that whatever expressions you add to text and dialog are there for a valid reason: to emphasize a moment, an emotion, or a reaction, not to toss in vulgarity for the sake of adding it (“shock value” might have worked once upon a time ago, but nowadays it leans toward trite).

Thought I’d continue re the last story-to-script post and touch a wee bit on the $ component.

Can money be made selling scripts? Of course. Is it easy? Depends on who you read and/or listen to. If you can make the film yourself, awesome and all the better—but it takes bucks (as in budget) and background (as in know-how)—so if neither is an option, then start pitching. Before that happens, however, a few “musts” enter the equation.

The [well-written] script must be fantastic. The concept and storyline have to stand out and the characters should prove dynamic. As such, revise that script until it’s seamless.

Get feedback—genuine feedback. And yes, it can come from friends and followers. Family? Maybe. Accept input with a grain of salt. It’s very nice to have Cousin Martha-May effusively state what a gifted writer you are and doesn’t the script just read peachy-keen, but it’s not going to help much in the hoping-and-planning-to-sell department. You need critical advice. How does the script [truly] read? Is it logical? Are there typos and glaring errors or inconsistencies? Ensure that script is the best it can be.

There must be an accompanying persuasive pitch. Keep it short and sweet, and strong. Impress the reader (filmmaker, producer, agent, whomever) so that he/she wants to see the script. Keep calling, emailing, contacting—and make sure you know who you’re pitching (selling) to. Be positive and forthright, and grab attention.

Part of that persuasive pitch is having an awesome log-line (a one or two sentence summation of your script). It must convey the premise and provide a snapshot of the overall storyline.

You must network, network, and network. Put yourself and your work out there. Get to know as many [influential/connected] people as possible. Apply yourself. Recognize that it may take time and be patient (and persevering). Use social media to your advantage. Join relevant communities. Acquire contacts. Join script-writing groups. Dare I say it again? You must network, network, and network.

Researching sites to locate lists of [credible] film people is a must, too, because unless Great-Uncle Waldo works for a major film studio, you’ll need leads. Sure, they’re already receiving queries by the <bleep>-load. Don’t let that deter you. You never know: your script might just be THE one.

Posting about your work and projects is also a must. If you’re a blogger, inform your followers/visitors; if you’re not a blogger, become one. Use every possible promotional tool.

Podcasts, conferences, and classes with film and media folks are worth checking out. They can lead to connections—can, not will—but you’ll acquire tips, learn new/interesting facts, and make acquaintances. Don’t discount these avenues.

If the idea of scriptwriting tickles your fancy, go for it. Simply view the making-sale$ part as another challenge—which we know we can triumph over with determination and commitment, and amazing self-promo skills (which are honed with practice and persistence).

Ever consider adapting . . . adopting . . . a story or book and converting it into a script/screenplay? (And just what is the difference between the two? Nada in terms of films, but TV scripts are always called just that: scripts.)

I’ve written a few scripts over the years. It’s a challenge having to take a story and condense it into a few pages, but it’s also a lot of fun. It’s like breathing life into your story and characters; they become more visual . . . realistic . . . vibrant. And that’s very cool.

Recently, an acquaintance requested I adapt/adopt a story and while I haven’t committed—yet—I’m giving it [serious] thought. This would entail taking a two-sentence premise and writing a script from scratch. (A two-hour feature film, as an FYI, equals a 120-page script.)

Which one’s harder: beginning with a thought or molding a predetermined, written, story? I believe both provide the same challenges . . . in different respects. If you take a thought, you literally lay the foundation and construct from the beginning, the base, and add everything and anything that comes to creative mind. If you take a completed story or book, you keep some (or a lot) of the foundation, but assemble—and refurbish—as you deem fit.

If you’re starting with nothing more than a premise, you’ll have to determine the genre. If you’re hoping to sell the script (maybe we’ll touch upon sales in Post #2), aim for a popular genre. The ones that “sell” best, in no given order: crime, detective, action, comedy, horror, fantasy, love/romance, sci-fi, and thriller. (There’s no reason you can’t meld two or three, but if you’re going to do this, make sure one stands out above the others, and that they gel well.)

Once you’ve determined the genre or you’ve got a story/book ready to adapt, give thought to what the script will entail. Questions to consider:

tylerus

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Welcome to Hasanthi's Book Blog!! A space dedicated for books and book related articles! All book lovers, reading enthusiasts and anyone who loves blogging are invited to read and comment to my articles. Hope you enjoy!!!! (This blog is in loving memory of Mr. Lionel Ranasinghe!)